Ukrainians banned from wearing uniforms with a map of Ukraine at the 2026 Paralympics.

The International Paralympic Committee has banned the Ukrainian team from using a uniform featuring a full map of Ukraine for the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games .

This was announced by the President of the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine , Valeriy Sushkevich .

According to him, the IPC did not allow the Ukrainian team to compete in uniforms that emphasized Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

“We prepared our team’s sports uniform—no, not even sports uniform, but dress uniform. The International Paralympic Committee said, ‘No, no, no—this won’t do!’ They said this uniform was political. And they said no one would allow us to compete in such a uniform,” Sushkevich noted.

He added that the uniform was symbolic and showcased Ukraine “with all its territories unoccupied by Russia.” The design was developed by Viktor Anisimov , who previously designed the uniforms for Ukrainian Paralympians for the 2024 Summer Paralympics .

Due to the ban on the original design, the team had to urgently produce new uniforms and send them by bus to Italy, where the athletes were already located.

Sushkevich also stated that after the Paris Games, in his opinion, there was an “escalation of loyalty” toward Russia on the part of some Paralympic officials, who do not allow Ukraine to publicly emphasize its territorial integrity.

As a reminder, Ukraine finished its participation in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy without winning any medals. This marks the third time in history that the Ukrainian team has gone without a Winter Olympic medal, and also the worst result in terms of highest placings.